2048823
by FreyjaBertrand
Summary: This is the story of a certain Daryl Yan on his journey to discover his true self. Perhaps with the help of someone he met in the past. Post Guilty Crown. Daryl x Tsugumi
1. Chapter 1

**2048.8.23**

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Any characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks,__** belongs to Guilty Crown**__ and their respective associates. The story is **purely fiction**. Only story and plot belongs to me. I do not make any financial benefits from writing this fiction. Please enjoy despite my clumsy English! _

* * *

_Daryl x Tsugumi_

**Chapter 1**

Daryl could feel his heart thumping from the brisk footsteps above him as the elevator he was in plummeted down the GHQ facility. He could feel blood drained from his face and his red-white pilot uniform completely soaked with cold sweat as he heard the rapid gunshots reverberating overhead. Daryl was still shocked that the stupid intel operator was dumb enough to send himself to hell's gate. The gunshots were intense as Daryl could feel the elevator's walls treble from it. Rowan died; that much was what Daryl knew.

The elevator plunged down so fast that Daryl's self was thrown off the floor when it came to a sudden halt – he knew that it was stuck in the middle of the facility, faulty. Trembling from shock, Daryl fell to his knees and bit back the spew behind his throat as he imagined the image of what Rowan would be at the moment. As Daryl calmed himself, still breathing heavily, he found out that the elevator was locked on level thirty-four and that the lights were flickering irregularly. Daryl propped his back to the elevator's wall, sat one knee up and closed his eyes. Daryl tried to recollect what has just happened. He remembered Rowan had dragged him in attempt to escape and the (stupid) intel operator had the guts to shove him into the elevator and desperately instructed him to live well and be kinder in the world. Daryl felt pissed to be ordered around by a mere lower ranking officer, but most important of all it made him realized how weak he has become. He had just relied on (albeit unconsciously and involuntarily) Rowan to escape. Daryl did not need to rely on anyone – He was a lieutenant for Steiner's sake. Bringing to mind his Steiner only made him even more pissed off, to think those Undertaker women hijacked his precious custom endlave for their own use.

In spite of it all, Rowan had just got himself killed for Daryl was the fact.

The elevator abruptly took a nosedive when Daryl thought of his newly discovered realization. Too exhausted to function his mind any more, Daryl let one of his arms rest on his upright knee and shut his eyes as his body shook violently from the impact.

The loud screech caused by the dropping elevator pierced Daryl's eardrums. For once, Daryl relaxed and succumbed himself to death. He could feel the building crumble; there was no way the facility would not fully collapse at this state. Damn that Tsutsugami and faceless bastard. Oh and those Undertakers women too. Ever since the Undertakers appeared, nothing went right for Daryl. Everything he had been fighting for, all the efforts to prove his superiority was all washed down the drain. Daryl silently laughed bitterly as he thought of Rowan sacrificing himself for nothing. People like him could never be kind enough to have their life spared, especially in such a situation.

As the elevator crashed down onto the earth, Daryl no longer heard any noises.

Not until an ear-splitting ringing rang through the core of his head.

* * *

The digital table clock flashed 5:00 a.m. when the alarm set off. It did not took Daryl more than three seconds to permanently cease the wretched ringing. Daryl, with eyes closed, slowly sat upright and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his hand. Pondering deeply.

It was that bloody dream again.

It has been nine years – _almost_ a decade, since Japan was rid of the Apocalypse Virus. After the event, GHQ was terminated and Japan regained their sovereignty, adapting their previously embraced constitutional monarchy and the public even elected a prime minister of their choice. Japan was still in debt with the United Nations and other ally countries, however, it was steadily paying them off. Japan was on its journey to its former glory.

One Daryl Yan was found miraculously alive under the rubble and debris of the GHQ facility collapse. One Daryl Yan was treated for months in a Tokyo hospital until he was in an appropriate state to move about. One Daryl Yan, once a lieutenant of GHQ, surprised himself by staying in Japan even after the quazi-governmental organization he worked for wound up. One Daryl Yan has been dreaming the same horrid dream every night for the past nine years. One Daryl Yan persisted that those dreams meant nothing. One Daryl Yan berated himself for knowing that in the back of his mind he really was scared.

Damn Rowan with his damnable words that plagued and haunted him endlessly everyday.

Heaving a heavy frustrated sigh, Daryl then opened his eyes and reluctantly got off his bed. He sauntered to his bathroom and did all the fundamental hygiene tasks, which he considered to be the most important things to do _ever_, period. He slipped into a white silk bathrobe, wiped the steam fogged from the hot shower off the mirror and stared into the mirror.

In the mirror, was the reflection of a man. A man whom had the most magnificent blonde hair, a man whose facial features was the sharpest a man could wish for, a man who could swoon any women just with his handsome looks, a man whose dull violet eyes that has anything but emotion. He just looked like an empty vessel of living flesh. Daryl just stared at his own face, a face that was not the seventeen-year-old one that held passion to his beliefs like it used to be.

Daryl did not even care.

Daryl ambled through his dark apartment and reached for a remote control that opens up his apartment's thick curtains. Despite the clear wide glass window, the time of the day did not contribute in giving enough light into the apartment, only provided the silhouette of migrating swallows. It was just half past five in the morning. Whatever, it would not be long until one can really feel the nature in this polluted world anyways.

After enjoying the scenery for a brief moment, Daryl then proceeded to prepare a light breakfast for himself and indulged himself with a cup of the finest Arabica coffee accompanied with the daily Japan Times on his mobile phone's wide projected screen. After his breakfast, Daryl rid all his dishes into his dishwasher and lazily sauntered into his room.

Daryl opened his wardrobe and grabbed one of his customary red-white pilot uniform, white army trench coat, long navy pants, and tossed them all onto his unmade king-sized bed. Daryl stared vacantly at his uniform. Daryl recalled it was an idle period when he was healthy after the GHQ facility collapse incident. Daryl had nowhere to go and definitely did not want to go back to his hometown. No one would have waited for him anyways. He remembered the nurses, doctors, and adults asked about family, relatives, and hometown to his seventeen-year-old self.

At one point of time, Daryl reckon he had wanted to roam the world what with all the fortune he inherited from his father – something he was very surprised to have found out. However, Daryl had not once touched the inheritance as the bitterness in him still lingered. Apart from that, the other reason that stopped Daryl from travelling came at the most opportune time. In the few months after Japan regain its sovereignty, children and intelligent people such as Japanese teachers of Korean descent started to disappear mysteriously. As investigation goes on, it seemed that North Korea was behind the shenanigans. Japan, however, could not provide proof. In the coming years during the restoration of the Japanese Government, North Korea started to response in arms towards Japan's accusations. Hence, a war broke out.

Naturally, Daryl would not care for some countries' war against each other, however, the Japan Self-Defense Forces decided to use endlaves after having getting accustomed to GHQ's operations. And endlaves means interest in Daryl's part. Daryl who had no particular goal in his life at that time decided to join the Japan Self-Defense Forces as war means piloting endlaves will be frequent and thus, the uniform lying on his bed.

Daryl donned himself in his pilot suit and navy pants before pulling over his white army trench coat that bears a star insignia on the right shoulder declaring he was the brigadier general. Since he got into it, why not be the best? Despite being a brigadier general, Daryl would go on field as frequently as possible just to satisfy his piloting desires – swift and destroy. The deepest regret of Daryl was joining the Japan Self-Defense Forces itself for sake of piloting endlaves and getting back his former status as 'the Butcher'. As much to Daryl's disappointment, North Korea and Japan continuously tries to get into less physical conflicts to prevent human loss. Daryl could count with one hand how many he had killed ever since he joined. He had wanted to quit and leave Japan but the thought immediately flew out the window as he found out that countries already marked him as a criminal who defected to Japan.

Hence, everyday Daryl would commute to work and return home for the day.

This was the tedious routine Daryl was following daily, 365 days every year for the past nine years and he was sure that it would be no different today.

As Daryl thought of his boring days, he wryly said to no one in particular:

_"Welcome to my life."_


	2. Chapter 2

**2048.8.23**

**_Disclaimer:_**_ A__ny characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks,__** belongs to Guilty Crown**_ and their respective associates. The story is **purely fiction**. Only story and plot belongs to me. I do not make any financial benefits from writing this fiction. Please enjoy!

* * *

_**A/N:** For those who are not very familiar with military ranks, general officer ranks from the most senior are general, lieutenant general, major general, and brigadier general. So Daryl is the lowest of the general ranks. Hope it helps._

**Chapter 2**

A jet-black BMW X5 SUV swerved through the empty street of Minami-Azabu – it was early Saturday morning where everyone was tight asleep. The crisp sound of the car engines sang in a low audible hum. Inside the car was Daryl Yan who was on his way to work. Daryl was immensely satisfied with this means of transport as it was, in his opinion, the second best thing to 'pilot'. At times, Daryl would even prefer it to endlaves as it was more relaxing and easeful to navigate.

Driving through the Minato Ward, Daryl was headed for a man-made island located just at the nearby Tokyo Bay. Daryl could already feel the lofty robust buildings towering his car as he drove towards its direction.

Daryl was still amused with the headquarters despite having worked there for so many years. It was laughable that the Japanese government decided to continue using the defense mechanism developed by people who had once robbed off their sovereignty. Making a fortress on an isolated island with all sorts of weapons and secrets that the public will never know. How devious. Of course, it is within their jurisdiction to do so.

Getting into the facility was a tedious process. Daryl had to get through several custom checkpoints and the ridiculously long suspension bridge before making into the central compound. Normally, there were dorms in the defense forces facility. However, because this was Daryl Yan, living in shared vicinities was just too unbearable. He could not stand the germs that would have contaminated his self.

The design of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces headquarters varied greatly from the one of GHQ's. Instead of the pristine white futuristic-styled architectures, the one built upon its remains were tall gray rectangular buildings. Daryl had to admit that the Japanese government was rather tasteless.

After Daryl parked his car at his allocated spot in the basement, he went for the elevator and took off to the more upper parts of the building. The elevator goes up at a moderate speed. Elevators have become one of the things that Daryl had come to loathe. It was not that he had developed a phobia on it, no. It was just that every time he got on one, the voice of Rowan would manifest itself in his mind until he could distract himself with something else.

_"If you get another chance, be kinder to people!"_

Daryl silently cursed under his breath. Of all people that should plague his mind, he only remembered the damned intel operator clearly. Daryl was deeply amazed at the human brain. It could just store the memory of anything one does not want to remember permanently. If there were one wish that can be fulfilled, Daryl would wish for the ability to delete his memories. They were so frustrating.

* * *

Halfway to its destination, the elevator stopped and the door revealed a blonde female officer and a brunette male officer who seemed to be her subordinate – looking at how she was obviously chastising him. The blonde officer jerked and her slightly lax posture tensed at the sight of the brigadier general. The two officers saluted Daryl with their hands.

"Good morning brigadier general, Sir!" the two saluted loudly before stepping into the elevator.

The blonde woman blushed and slightly fidgeted as she stood beside Daryl much to his disgust. The elevator stopped at level twenty-two when the two officers waited for the elevator doors to open.

The woman had the guts to say, "I wish to work with you some time in the future and have a nice day, Sir. "

Daryl closed his eyes and forced down an exasperated sigh. He was already in a not-so-marvellous mood and was not eager to exchange pleasantries. Only a second had past when Daryl opened his eyes and scowled at the blonde woman.

"If you had the time to wish," Daryl started at the blonde officer. He had his chin up and eyes narrowed at her uniform to see the blonde's status before blithely commented, "wouldn't it be better to climb from your pathetic rank, warrant officer?"

The blonde officer was visibly embarrassed. The brunette officer could only try so hard to hold back his laugh.

* * *

It was only a matter of seconds that the elevator reached the fifty-third level of the sixty-four storey tall building. Daryl strode out the elevator with confidence and swagger not bothering with anyone who saluted him. He stopped at the front desk to get his attendance confirmed. The raven-haired receptionist greeted and stared at him with a revolting sultry look _like always_.

Daryl often heard from other men how women could be so desirable and bring so much bliss. Some shared how great it will be to have certain types of woman to spend time and even married with. Daryl could only blanch with disgust and distaste. How all these women could act so shamelessly and disgustingly was beyond Daryl. He could only label them as unintelligent bimbos.

Daryl scowled and made way to his office. He unsurprisingly found the major general already comfortably seated in one of the guest chairs by his office table.

Daryl's frowned, "What are you doing here?"

The major general turned knowingly and asked as he feigned surprise, "Oh, good morning brigadier general Yan. Haven't seen you in awhile, how have you been?"

The major general was called Gushiken Ken, odd surname he has. Daryl was never one to really understand Japanese names anyways. Gushiken was a tall tanned husky man in his thirties whose body posture was similar to that of the late irritating ignorant Eagleman – though Gushiken was not as beefy. The man had a very unique tanned skin that he seemed to inherit from his Okinawan ancestors. He was a very talkative man who always spoke with thunderous voice and funny accent. Regardless of that, He was probably one of the few people Daryl could tolerate.

"Humph. Why suddenly showing yourself now after so long?" Daryl spoke in discontent. He had wanted to just get the boring day over with quietly.

"I'm very fine too! Didn't know that you're concerned of my well being so much, brigadier general! I must say I'm touched!" Gushiken replied with an exaggerated tone.

Daryl walked towards his chair and stared at Gushiken for answers along with furrowing his brows in disgruntlement. Every time the major general visited, he would unfailingly rant endlessly about something that was not even close to necessary. Never was a time where he would bring something useful and interesting apart from endlave simulations. Daryl did not expect anything other than chitchat today as well. Not until he was caught off guard with his unusual conversation direction.

"I heard you have been having trouble with Heckler, haven't you, brigadier general Yan?" Gushiken airily started.

Heckler was the custom endlave assigned for Daryl a few years upon his recruitment in the JSDF. The streamlined endlave has a sleek black coloured scheme with purple eyes and parts of the body will glow a lines of purple light when operated. True, it differed so much from his old white Steiner but this thing was a beauty. It was equipped with powerful firearm and special missiles concealed in the endlave's anatomy itself. It was made from mostly titanium hence being exceptionally lightweight for an endlave. Heckler could not have lost to any other endlaves in terms of design, power, versatility, and speed. A person codenamed, Black Swan, was the one who designed and built this wonderful endlave for him. Whoever this Black Swan was, Daryl must admit that the guy was an all-round genius. And true to what Gushiken had said, there has been an inconsistency present when piloting Heckler. It was as if some part of it was faulty but the engineers did not detect anything wrong. Daryl even examined Heckler himself but did not find anything to be wrong.

"Yeah there has been inconsistency with its speed and handling but the engineers said there were nothing wrong. Why are you so interested?" Daryl said as he looked at the major general questioningly.

"You might not have learn of this yet but early this morning there has been an attack initiated by North Korea on the Naha Port Facility at Okinawa." Gushiken said in a surprisingly subdued tone. Daryl just stared at him with an indifference look and perked up when Gushiken continued what he said.

"You'll be so interested in this. North Korea actually managed attacked with endlaves. A total of five endlaves are launched at the port but the military officials there managed to take down all of them. They are still on alert and inspecting other possible threats."

Listening to what Gushiken had just said sounded like pleasant melody playing in his ears. Unable to conceal his excitement, Daryl asked, "Does that mean I will be going to destroy all those incompetent fools?"

The major general straightaway said no much to Daryl's disappointment.

Annoyed, Daryl spoke up with voice raised, "Then what do you expect me to do? Rot here in this pathetic excuse of a defence headquarters?"

It was true that Daryl was already on verge of rotting away in the rathole of the military defence facility. He has not got onto field for such a long period of time and training simulations barely satisfied his needs. The Japanase government sure knew how to waste their own country's assets.

Gushiken raised his right hand, gesturing for Daryl to calm down. He proposed, "It was a shame that you cannot pilot your Heckler for massive destruction, however, I have another mission for you to do."

"What mission?" Daryl asked in irritation.

"You know who Black Swan is don't you?" Gushiken asked rhetorically.

Sensing no answer from the younger brigadier general, the major general continued on with his proposition, "I want you to leave for Okinawa tomorrow morning. Locate and safely escort Black Swan to Tokyo on Monday. A pair of plane tickets to Naha will be prepared and sent to you later. You are to-"

"Who in the world do you think I am? Someone's personal bodyguard? What gives you the right to order me to do that!" Daryl half-screamed, got up from his chair and cut off Gushiken, strongly objecting what had just been ordered on him.

"Look. For the past couple of years, North Korea has been keeping their activities strictly confidential and covert. We, even the higher-ups, do not know what they have up their sleeves and now they just assaulted us so suddenly without any prior notice. A war will soon break out – there's no doubt about it. Seeing that they are already incorporating endlave technology in their weaponry set it is at utmost importance to keep all our endlaves better made and in good condition as theirs. You know whom Black Swan is so you of all people should know how important Black Swan is as our asset. Besides, once we have Black Swan here, you can have your Heckler checked." Gushiken explained stressing the severity of the condition.

Daryl was at loss of words as he slowly repeated what Gushiken had said to him once again in his mind. All these years, never before had Daryl seen Gushiken talking so seriously as opposed to his usual high-spirited self.

Gushiken broke Daryl from his train of thoughts saying, "Understood now, brigadier general Yan?"

Daryl just stared at the major general a bit taken aback.

Taking the silence as a yes, Gushiken stood upright looking into Daryl's eyes and said, "You are to escort Black Swan and report in my office on Monday after touchdown brigadier general Yan, understood?"

Knowing that the younger man would not respond, the major general started to leave the office. As his turned the knob, he turned his head to Daryl who was still stunned and said, "Oh right, I as the major general do, as a matter of fact brigadier general Yan, have the right to order you on this mission."

"I will stripe you off that title when I become one", Daryl said challengingly while looking daggers at the major general.

"Not until I'm a lieutenant general, brigadier general Yan", Gushiken replied amusedly and half-jokingly.

When the brawny major general left the office, Daryl Yan cursed the whole world.


	3. Chapter 3

2048.8.23

_**Disclaimer:** Any characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks, __**belongs to Guilty Crown**__ and their respective associates. The story is __**purely fiction**__._

* * *

_Daryl x Tsugumi_

**Chapter 3**

It was only ten in the morning when Daryl set his foot on Naha Airport. It was bright blue sky upon deep blue sea that Daryl could see as the airplane dived down the sky. Despite being in the air-conditioned aiport sporting a completely casual outfit (white linen button-up rolled to his elbows, brown bermudas, and casual loafers completed with a pair of aviators), Daryl could already feel the heat that would approach him as he looked out at the bright daylight. Daryl wandered the airport in search for a taxi stand as he grudgingly recalled Gushiken's instructions.

_"Here's the address of where you should be able to locate Black Swan – though that was from six years ago. Do not try to contact with any JSDF members over there. I know JSDF has the ground camp based there but this mission is entirely covert. The upper-ups decided not to have Black Swan's identity known. Get a cab, take the monorail, hitchhike, whatever – just keep this mission completely confidential. Report to my office immediately after touchdown. Do you understand, brigadier general Yan?"_

It was Daryl's first time visiting Okinawa; surely it was not that bad to hire a guide or driver for that. Furthermore, Black Swan's location was not even confirmed. To make things worse, Gushiken could not even provide him with a picture of Black Swan just because JSDF do not have it in their record. Just how in the world Daryl could confirm Black Swan's identity – he had no idea.

_'Just how important is this Black Swan anyways?' _Daryl thought in frustration.

Damn Gushiken.

Thinking of the devil, Daryl's phone vibrated displaying the initials G.K. on the screen. Daryl reluctantly picked up the call and uttered an exasperated 'what?' He certainly did not want to be bothered more on this already gruelling mission.

"Yo! Daryl, my man!" came the loud enthusiastic reply of Gushiken.

Gushiken was the most puzzling man Daryl has ever met in his life – at least one after Segai. During work Gushiken would act so proper and when they were not on duty he would act like he was Daryl's best mate, very much to Daryl's annoyance. At times, Daryl wondered if Gushiken has split personality but he knew that it all boiled down to occupation professionalism. Daryl wryly wondered what had he done his previous life to deserve working under such baffling men.

"Reached Naha already, huh? How's the situation over there? Heard the heat's been overbearing." Gushiken asked in slight curious.

Daryl, trying to suppress a sigh, said in irritation, "I asked you what the hell you want".

The man really knew how to bullshit.

"Chill, yo. Just want to wish you luck on your act as the undercover spy. Can't imagine how you would act in getting back the lost treasure and fending off the evil at the same time!" Gushiken said in his thick Okinawan accent.

Daryl knew he was just referring to his covert mission. It would not have made much different saying it outright even if the network may have been bugged. Except for the codename 'Black Swan', of course.

"The undercover spy does not even know what is the lost treasure. Seriously though, I do not understand why it is not you who are doing this. You of all people should know Okinawa best", Daryl complained while emphasizing on the 'you'.

"Aww, you know I have other more important stuffs to do than you! Don't worry you will know which the treasure is for sure. Ah! I cannot wait to see your act, my friend! You must remember to tell me tomorrow morning!" Gushiken spoke again in an enthusiastic tone filled with eagerness.

Finally unable to hold back the sigh, Daryl sighed heavily and asked, "Is that all you have to say?"

It was not really a simple task to track down a person in just 24 hours.

Daryl was getting really tired of Gushiken. He could not have wasted more time than listening to Gushiken ranting all day.

"Yeah, man. Don't even think of coming back anymore if you cannot find the lost treasure. Just be careful at a foreign place even if it is in your own country, will you?"

Rolling his eyes in vexation, Daryl was about to hung his phone when he heard Gushiken's voice.

"And I wish you a happy birthday, man."

Daryl rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh again – this time with a slight tug at the corner of his lips.

* * *

The taxi ride from the airport was a boring and tiring affair. The supposedly short journey was prolonged to a two hours ride due to the closure of major roads to comply with some stupid festival.

When Daryl got on the taxi, he could only see endless blue sky and the short gray structures of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces camp lying amidst the grassy plain. It was a nice change of image from the usual gray and gloomy atmosphere in Tokyo.

As the taxi approaches the Meiji Bridge that connects the airport and city, Daryl peered over to the heavily damaged Naha Port Facility. Soldiers, Japanese and Americans, could be seen at the premises. It might be true that the Japan-America ally relationship was carefully preserved, however, the catchword of every countries was always the same – 'to each their own'. Everyone in this world was hypocrites and selfish loads – why bother building and maintaining relationships that are not beneficial. The military base was American-owned anyways. Hence it was no surprise that the goons from the Tokyo side refrained Daryl to come into contact with any of these here.

The climax of boredom and annoyance ensued when the taxi crossed over to the city. There was a festival held today and thousands of people filled the streets, dancing. Daryl gave the piece of paper in his hand a hard stare. Written on the paper was the supposed address of Black Swan. It just has to be situated right at the street where all the festivities were happening. The taxi did not make any noticeable move in the long line of cars and the music from outside was chanting like an alien mantra in Daryl's mind. The taxi driver was also a bit too chatty for Daryl's preference. Asking so many questions after being surprised by Daryl's superb command in Japanese as he thought Daryl was one of the foreign tourists. Already in a very bad mood, Daryl Yan could not help but snapped at the driver with death glares. And the questions came no more.

* * *

After what seemed like eternity, Daryl finally got off the taxi. His legs were stiff and sore from sitting the whole morning – airplane and taxi. He reached the old residential building at Kokusai Street just as written in the address. He did not like the site at all. Daryl suddenly doubted if Black Swan even lived here – surely the creator of Heckler could have dwelled in better quarters. The Kokusai Street was a shopping district, as it would seem. Being in Okinawa – that was a blend of various Asian cultures, have made the place looked shockingly like a Chinatown. As a matter of fact, everywhere in Naha looked like its China, Japan and everywhere Asian combined. The location was cramped with shops, very crowded with people shopping. And today, people were dancing crazily.

As Daryl stared at the apartment building in front him, he thought that would rather live in shared dorm back at the Tokyo headquarters than this. It was not run down but it was not the most glamorous either.

Daryl groaned as he climbed up the stairs of the fairly old building. Seriously, the building does not even have an elevator. When Daryl reached the fifth storey (the highest of the building), he immediately located Black Swan's residence, as it was the only apartment on that floor. A metal nameplate with the word 'Sendou' was inscribed on it. So the surname of Black Swan's 'Sendou', huh. Daryl silently hoped he would not get the wrong person because he had had enough of the day and Monday were just hours away.

Daryl stood in front of the apartment door, contemplating how he should introduce himself. He heaved a vexed sigh after chiding himself for even worrying about a trivial matter like that.

Daryl pushed the bell button. He could hear the soft ring coming from the inside of the apartment. No one answered the door. Daryl pushed on the button once more to no avail.

Awful luck today Daryl had today.

Just when he turned to leave, Daryl's ears met with an oddly familiar shrill scream that sounds so very much like a girl's and his abdomen met with a terribly painful kick.

"Missile Kick!" screamed the person who kicked Daryl right on his abdomen and knocked him down the floor.

"Hah! Now I got you stalker, you should have known better than to underestimate a girl!" the assailant exclaimed.

Daryl slightly panted as he felt his abdomen throb in pain. Clutching his stomach with one hand, Daryl slowly got up from the floor and snarled at his attacker "Who the hell is your stalker, bitch!"

When an irate Daryl Yan met his gaze with his attacker, his facial expression turned a hundred eighty. To say he was surprised was an understatement.

In front of him was a familiar girl with long black hime-cut hair who were as equally surprised.

Purple orbs meets dark ones.

"You!"

The two adults exclaimed in unison as they recognized each other.

And that was the second time in his life that Daryl had been so shocked.


	4. Chapter 4

**2048.8.23**

_**Disclaimer:** Any characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks, __**belongs to Guilty Crown**__ and their respective associates. This story is __**purely fiction**__._

* * *

_Daryl x Tsugumi_

**Chapter 4**

"You!"

The two adults exclaimed in unison as they recognized each other.

Daryl was at lost for words when he saw the woman who had just booted him on his stomach.

The woman with huge dark slate blue eyes wide-open looked up at the stranger she had just mistaken as a stalker.

"You… You are that guy from the festival at Tennouzu High, aren't you?" The woman asked in slight confusion.

Daryl still could not believe his eyes. The woman in front of him was undoubtedly the Undertaker runt he unluckily encountered. He reckoned he was on his boring (_as usual_) undercover mission into the infected high school where some Undertaker members have taken refuge. The runt was still quite petite for her age and her white short puffed sleeved summer dress hung loosely on her already small frame. She still wore cat's ears hair band on her head. But this time she had on a peculiar metal cat's ears hair band, which was already worn-out from age. That aside, she still had on that tough and determined expression. It was the same expression when Daryl saw her during Tsutsugami's sudden revival.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked while faintly touching her chest with one hand. The man was oddly in a daze.

Recovered from his trance, Daryl spoke, "I'm here for a Black Swan".

As Daryl saw the woman's slightly anxious posture, he then thought that she could not possibly be _the_ Black Swan. He has always pictured Black Swan as a guy that has a very intellectual look and supposedly be well in his forties. Daryl then realized despite knowing her, he did not know her name at all – just 'that Undertaker runt'.

Slightly taken aback, the woman replied in hesitation, "What do you need from Black Swan?"

After hearing her smart quick-witted reply, Daryl contemplated hard whether he should reveal his identity or mission. He was ordered to be strictly covert and if this woman was not Black Swan, he would get into deep shit.

Thinking hard what words to get his way around the question, a white ball shifted behind the woman. It was a strange looking robot. That should be enough to confirm to an extent that this person was or related to Black Swan. After a pregnant pause, Daryl spoke out.

"I am brigadier general Yan, sent under the JSDF to locate and escort Black Swan back to the headquarters. Are you or do you know where Black Swan might be?"

The woman held her breath then warily asked, "How do I know if you are not an impostor?"

Daryl closed his eyes and thought hard what he could do to prove his identity – what could only Black Swan and him knew. The hubbub from the festivities below was enough to make Daryl lose his concentration.

_Black Swan. Black Swan._

The petite woman looked at the brigadier general expectantly for an answer. It was too dangerous to have people fooled her to get her identity.

Daryl opened his eyes and exhaled before he confirmed his identity.

"823."

The woman looked down and heaved a deep sigh (of relief?) before looking up at him and said with a faint smile, "The world is really a small place, isn't it? Let's talk inside, shall we? It's really noisy out here."

* * *

Daryl followed the woman into her apartment. The apartment glowed a relaxing soft green hue from the sunlight that filtered through the thin emerald curtains. There were dozens of different-sized card boxes littered in the living room as well as the dining area. Some of the furniture was covered in white cloths. Overall, the apartment was barren and looked as if someone was in preparation of moving out.

Daryl stared at the white robot as it skidded towards the woman. With an indifference expression, he laid his eyes on the woman as she flung over the white cloths that covered the sofas.

"I'm so sorry my place is quite messy right now. Please have a seat," the woman spoke at Daryl with an apologetic look. Daryl sauntered to the couch, inspecting whether it was clean before he sat comfortably on it.

The woman proceeded to the kitchen to which the robot skidded along. Apparently, she looked as if she was preparing beverages as she rummaged through the pantry for cups. Deciding checking out the woman's back was not the most interesting thing to do, Daryl let his eyes wandered around the apartment. The whole place was not so huge, but would suffice for a woman to live in alone. He peered at the small corridor to which two doors erected. Daryl guessed one was the bedroom and the other the washroom. Daryl drifted his eyes to the full wall windows in front of him. Despite the curtains being down, Daryl could see the vast blue sky that lies behind it. Daryl wondered if the sky in Okinawa was always this close to a person unlike the sky that hung light years away from the skyscrapers in Tokyo.

Daryl's thoughts were interrupted when the woman set down a tray with tea and assorted complementary treats.

The woman sat down on the sofa and poured tea for both of them and smiled widely, "care for some tea?"

Instead of replying, Daryl straightforwardly asked, "Are you Black Swan?"

The woman knew that this person was really the one who she had programmed Heckler to – or at least he _should_ be. She had definitely inscribed the numbers 823 on the endlave blueprint corresponding to the person's birth date. She was instructed via email early in the morning yesterday after the Naha Port Facility attack that she would be escorted by a brigadier general to the Headquarters but was unable to send back a reply. The firewall was annoyingly impossible to bypass and it seemed getting the information of this brigadier general was out of question. Sending information through any mediums seemed so vulnerable nowadays.

Still wary of the man sitting in front of him, the woman asked, "Do you know Heckler?" Only the pilot of Heckler should know this, no one would have known it is her – Black Swan that created it.

Understanding the test that the woman gave him, Daryl played along, "Oh, Of course I know who Heckler is."

Daryl could see the woman's posture stiffened. He was sure that she completely doubted him from his answer.

Heckler was definitely not human.

Daryl smiled gleefully at the reaction as the woman's face could show her surprise and fear. Deciding not to take things too far, Daryl nonchalantly added, "It is the endlave assigned to me shortly I started to be in service. To be honest, it has not been performing very well lately. I have wanted to get into contact with Black Swan, as those incompetent engineers back at Tokyo had no clues what went wrong with it. I am very eager to inquire about Heckler as a matter of fact. It seems like you know Black Swan. Do you know where I can reach Black Swan?"

Now Daryl was already one hundred percent sure that the woman before him was no doubt Black Swan. Come to think of it, she does looked like one.

The woman visibly relaxed and lightheartedly said, "you got me there. I was actually alert if I had let some dangerous guy into my home."

"So you're Black Swan?" Daryl asked, trying to confirm.

The woman nodded and introduced herself with a smile.

"Black Swan is the codename I go by. My name's Tsugumi. Sendou Tsugumi. What's yours?"

"Daryl Yan," Daryl replied curtly.

"So you are the guy who I made Heckler for. I'm glad because you looked skilled. But there shouldn't be anything wrong with Heckler, it's programmed with my unique codes. I will diagnose it when we reach the Tokyo headquarters," said Tsugumi.

Daryl's stomach suddenly throbbed with pain and he could not help but clutched it and stifled a groan.

Seeing Daryl's behaviour, Tsugumi quickly reached for him asking if he was fine when Daryl immediately slapped her hands off him.

"Don't touch me!" Daryl snapped, as he freaked out at the sudden sensitive touch.

Daryl suddenly felt a jolt of electricity rising from his feet only to found the round white robot staring at him menacingly.

"Funnell!" Tsugumi chided the robot while apologizing to Daryl, "I'm so sorry! Funnell was misbehaving. And I'm really sorry for kicking you just now."

For some unknown reason, Daryl felt embarrassed and berated himself for freaking out so much. He settled for a, "I just don't like to be touched is all."

"I see… It's because of the virus huh?" Tsugumi said in empathy.

"I do not need your sympathy", Daryl spat.

Tsugumi's face turned sorry when Daryl said it. He had not meant to let it came out so nasty. Then in a split second, Daryl yelped as he felt the jolt of electricity again.

"Funnell! How many times do I have to tell you that you cannot do that!" Tsugumi scolded the robot, gesturing it to stay clear of Daryl.

"I'm really sorry," Tsugumi apologized again.

"Yeah, where do you get that thing anyway," Daryl shrugged, slightly guiltily, as he glared in irritation at Funnell. Funnell also returned the favor.

"It actually belonged to my late friend, it used to be under another guy's care but since no one could give it maintenance or fix it when it's faulty so it came under my care now," Tsugumi explained in slight yearning while gazing at Funnell.

Not really sure what to say, Daryl reached for the cup, inspected it and took a sip of the tea. The velvety liquid flowed down his throat and that was when Daryl realized he was so thirsty.

A beeping sound came from Funnell when Tsugumi suddenly clapped her hands together and loudly exclaimed, "Oh! It's this late already! Have you taken your lunch?"

Daryl stared at Tsugumi incredulously. This woman really has the most amazing mood swings. One second she's hot, another she's cold.

"Well? Have you? It's already two in the noon", Tsugumi asked again not getting a reply.

"No, I haven't", Daryl replied, somewhat taken aback.

"Okay, I'll prepare something for us now" Tsugumi cheerfully said as she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

Daryl decided to follow Tsugumi to the kitchen, as he has nothing to do. And of course, he would want to see if his lunch was prepared in utmost hygiene. What was really important was that his mission was going along well so far, he really could relaxed a bit today without the annoying presence of Gushiken.

As Daryl approached the petite lady, brownness covered his vision. Then for the next two seconds, Daryl felt the weight falling on his arms. Tsugumi had piled two boxes on Daryl's arms.

"Since I'm going to prepare lunch. Can you do me a favor of getting these to the dump downstairs?" Tsugumi bashfully told Daryl and returned to whatever she has been doing.

Daryl suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

No, it should not have turned out this way.

He was supposed to be the one who ordered the woman around as he reminisced the time during when a similar incident such as this had happened.

Daryl inwardly cursed as he paced. He was not some garbage guy to be ordered around for trash disposal. Much to Daryl's amazement, he was already standing in front of the dump and had just gotten rid of the trash as he was told to.

When did he become such an obedient boy?

Daryl fumed at his stupidity and glared at the little wretched robot in front of him. It had been following Daryl around everywhere he went. The ball of machine have only been everything but nice to him so far.

"You're really a wretched robot, you know white ball?" Daryl said in irritation.

Funnell did the most amazing thing it could do in response. It audaciously shrugged Daryl off with a nonchalant haughty expression and skidded off to the apartment's stairs.

That was one of the times where Daryl really wanted to destroy a robot so much in spite of his love for them. He would kill (literally) to get his Heckler and blast the wretched thing before him into ashes.

Daryl swore that he was so going to torment the robot and its master to no end if he was ever going to be involved with them again.

* * *

Daryl reluctantly brought his feet to a certain Sendou household. He opened the door expecting the damnable robot to welcome him. However, instead of Funnell, his nose was engulfed with a welcoming smell of food. It was not until he smelled the tasty smell that Daryl realized how empty his stomach has felt.

Daryl clicked the door closed and walked towards the source of smell. He can see Tsugumi arranging the cutleries on the table.

"Oh, you're back! That took quite a while. You must have missed the dump, haven't you? It's located at such an awkward place most would have missed it. Didn't Funnell guide you to the dump?" Tsugumi said as she took notice of Daryl.

Oh, so the robot was to guide Daryl to the dump.

Daryl glowered at Funnell. He had a feeling deep down his gut telling him that it was trying to see his misfortune.

"Please have a sit, the food's coming", said Tsugumi as she placed a dish on the table and went back to the kitchen for other.

Daryl sat down at the dining table and scrutinized at the unfamiliar dish. Tsugumi came back with two bowls and deftly placed it on both Daryl's and her's side of the table. It was hot soba. Daryl thought she must have did these kinds of chores a lot having living alone, perhaps all the while, to be so skilled.

"I know it's your birthday today, so I'm really sorry to have bothered you to come and escort me", Tsugumi said to Daryl's surprise.

Tsugumi walked over to the refrigerator and continues to speak with her back towards Daryl.

"There must have been others that you want to celebrate your birthday with. I can only whip up some chanpuru and soba is all."

Tsugumi took up a couple of cans out and slammed the refrigerator door shut with her elbow. She walked to the dining table and offered Daryl a can.

"I may not have any champagne but some Awamori will do?"

Daryl stared at Tsugumi with slight surprise on his face. Sensing that the older man was not going to take the beer, Tsugumi placed the can near him and sat down.

"Anyways, I wish you a happy birthday. Gosh, I'm really famished. Let's eat!" Tsugumi bubbly said and began her meal.

Daryl was completely stunned. He could faintly hear Tsugumi talked about the Okinawan cuisine she had prepared and promptly asking why was not he eating, but his brain could not response quick enough.

_'What the hell is __wrong__ with today?'_ Daryl thought.

Daryl had not felt the electric current running up his entire body until he heard Tsugumi screamed.

Damn robot.


	5. Chapter 5

**2048.8.23**

_**Disclaimer:** Any characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks, __**belongs to Guilty Crown**__ and their respective associates. This story is __**purely fiction**__._

* * *

_Daryl x Tsugumi_

**Chapter 5**

Daryl knew that he was an impatient man. At any point of Daryl's life, whether it comes to wanting new toys, the latest mobile phones, or custom-made endlaves – he always gets everything he wants right away. However, today he had surprised himself by proving that he still have some patience left in him after all.

From the moment Daryl received the retrieval mission from Gushiken, he had already half-guessed that it would be very troublesome.

And Daryl hit the bull's-eye.

Everything had not been going the way Daryl wished. He had wished for a smooth sailing journey, locating the Black Swan whom was a quiet forty year old man that would listen to his say and enjoy an easeful trip back to Tokyo. But so far, everything was the opposite.

The journey was exhausting, the Black Swan…

The Black Swan was easy to locate – yes, but too loud and brash for Daryl's liking. To make the matter worse, her _pet _has been the most pleasant creature he has ever met.

The woman, Tsugumi, was a very hotheaded one and with the most astounding mood swings. Just this noon Daryl had had an argument with her in which he astonishingly backed away. Tsugumi had planned to go out in the evening to which Daryl strongly opposed. So far the mission progress might not have been to his liking, however it has been going quite smoothly thus far. Daryl was not anymore keen in playing bodyguard what with the tiring day and the crowd out there. Of course the real reason why Daryl really opposed to was that it would have been completely nasty to go around the crowd like that. Daryl could imagine all the germs.

Tsugumi then explained to Daryl that it was her last day in Okinawa and pleaded to go but to no avail. Daryl was not one to be easily talked over with. In spite of the unmoved brigadier general, the petite hacker has yet given up. Instead she bombarded him with a number of excuses to justify going out in the evening was fine. Daryl, being as stubborn himself, did not show the slightest signs in stepping back.

Out of the blue, Daryl's eardrum rang for the next half an hour.

The woman really had startlingly impressive vocal cords.

Therefore, here he was standing behind the young woman who had just '_asked'_ him to tie the obi of her yukata. Daryl was beyond amazed at how he could conjure up the patience he had today. In all other times, one or two people would have been dead (literally) already.

"Why in the world do I have to do _this_?" Daryl mumbled to himself while struggling with the thick fabric.

"What?"

"Nothing. There, I'm done."

Tsugumi skipped away from Daryl and turned around to see her obi reflected in the window.

Tsugumi turned to Daryl and gave him a wide smile as she bubbly said, "You're really good at this. Thanks."

Daryl felt his face heated up a bit as Tsugumi smiled at him. Tsugumi had donned a simple cream yukata with thrush silhouettes printed on the garment. The yukata cutting was not revealing and the petite woman was not at all sexy, however, it complemented her in a more sophisticated sense. Daryl then realized Tsugumi was not exactly a beautiful woman but she was cute. Daryl felt his face heat even more when Tsugumi teasingly said, "What are you staring at?"

Yes, that was a good question. What was he staring at, really?

Tsugumi giggled audibly and skipped off to the door with Funnell in tow.

Daryl shot her a dry look.

Tsugumi slid her feet into her geta and turned to Daryl and teased again.

"Come on! There's a festival going don't be such a spoilsport with that face!"

Daryl kept his dry expression and followed the petite woman out.

'Just say that you actually just wanted to go enjoy the festival yourself,' Daryl wryly thought.

* * *

The whole Kokusai Street was filled with people dancing and enjoying the time of their lives. Daryl shifted uncomfortably in the midst of the people while following Tsugumi.

Sensing his discomfort, Tsugumi said, "You really don't have to come if you don't want to, you know. I can well protect myself with my missile kick."

Yes, that kick was nasty. Daryl gulped as he remembered the pain caused by the kick.

"And it's not like you can find a vacant hotel room around here anyways".

Daryl only gave her a scowl in reply.

Tsugumi knew that the brigadier general was still very displeased with her coming out as well as the accommodation arrangement.

The brigadier general was sent down here so abruptly that the headquarters did not know there was a festival going on today. Apparently the annual festival was one that should have been held on the first Sunday of the month; however there had been severe downpour every Sundays this far. Because it was strictly outdoors hence the festival had to be canceled. And since the festival was to be held at the end of summer, every citizens of Naha thought they should try their luck on the next Sunday. That was also the reason why the festival this year had attracted so much more volume of people than it usually did. Some said it was a blessing, and some bad omen. In any case, it was impossible for Daryl to find any hotel rooms around the vicinity at all. Just as coincidentally, Tsugumi has a couch open.

* * *

After fifteen minutes of squeezing and pushing people (much to Daryl's disgust), Daryl and Tsugumi (and Funnell) arrived at a restaurant called Heiki (Daryl thought wryly as he was definitely not _heiki_ at the moment). It was not very posh but it looked fancy enough. They stepped into the restaurant and were welcomed by a waitress. The waitress who recognized Tsugumi greeted her warmly and the couple was lead into the restaurant. It was 7 o'clock – still early for dinner. Hence the teppan bar seat that they were seated at was still empty. And as for Funnell, he was having a nice charge behind the teppan table.

Daryl looked at Tsugumi while the waitress attended to them.

"I didn't know you reserved for dinner," commented Daryl.

"Well, it's my last day in Okinawa after all and I want to eat my favorites," said Tsugumi with a grin. After the waiter poured still water for both of them, Tsugumi took a sip and continued, "And you would've felt uncomfortable in the crowd what with the festival going on".

Daryl looked slightly stunned. There were just so much bizarre things that happened in one day he had been quite immune already. Maybe these kinds of occurrences were not uncommon thought Daryl.

"If you were so concerned for me you should have reserved one of those rooms just for the _two of us_," Daryl commented in a risqué tone while slightly tipping his nose to the direction of the rooms. The rooms were those private VIP dining rooms.

Tsugumi's face blushed shades of red at his naughty suggestive comment. No matter how little they knew about each other, they were still a man and a woman – alone. Tsugumi bashfully replied that she had not thought of it.

Daryl smirked and quietly thanked Tsugumi as he began to run through the menu.

"You're welcome" Tsugumi smiled with a blush as she started to flip through the menu as well.

When the two ordered their food, a female chef in her late thirties walked to the teppan table.

The chef looked at Tsugumi and greeted her, "Ara, isn't it Tsugumi? You're out on a date today huh?"

Tsugumi just smiled with her already red face.

"Well, he's a handsome chap," the chef turned to look at Daryl.

"Hey there, I'm Eri – your chef today. Pleased to meet you," Eri greeted.

Daryl just looked at Eri with a bored face.

Eri turned to Tsugumi and curiously asked, "Does he understand Japanese?"

"Oh yes he does. He just don't like to talk that much," Tsugumi replied swiftly.

Without further adieu, Eri started to cook. She cooked so skillfully with two iron griddles in hands that both Daryl and Tsugumi were completely absorbed at the display. The occasional flambé also surprised the couple. Too engrossed with the cooking display, Tsugumi had not realized someone calling out for her.

"Oi! Tsugumi!" a woman around Tsugumi's age called out while tapping Tsugumi's shoulder.

Tsugumi turned and gasped in surprise. Most of her ex-colleagues were there.

"Guys! What are all of you doing here?"

"We came here to dine, of course. What else would we have done here? Spying you and _your date_?" the woman folded her arms and replied aloofly.

"Oh Risa, stop teasing Tsugumi-chan. But, wow. Tsugumi-chan, I never knew you into having a gaijin boyfriend," said another woman in the group.

"But seriously though, she just suddenly quits her job. Then she turned down having the last dinner with us to date with a hot guy! And you know what she's going to elope with him tomorrow before sunrise! How could you, Tsugumi! How could you!" Risa jested with dramatic gestures.

"Oh Risa!" Tsugumi cried while cupping her face to hide her blush. Tsugumi had talked to her colleagues (or friends) about her plans and she does not mind Risa being Risa, but she was really embarrassed of her jokes in front of Daryl.

Daryl looked at the group of people with complete disinterest. Aside from the two noisy women, there were three other men with them. What had really caught Daryl's interest was that the raven-haired guy took a step out and looked daggers at him. The guy then turned to Tsugumi and asked, "So it's him?"

Tsugumi divert her attention from Risa to the guy and stared at him eyes wide open but with an expression that of awkwardness.

The air soon felt very awkward and another bulkier guy from the group flung his arm on the guy's shoulder and nervously said, "Oh come on guys, we gotta go order our food or the next people who reserved will arrive. Just let the two enjoy their meal. Hahaha."

"Oh alright! We'll catch you later okay, Tsugumi?" said Risa in slight disappointment.

"And you too, handsome."

Even after the group left their table, Tsugumi's discomfort was still present.

Daryl smirked and plotted a plan in his head to lift up the atmosphere (So that he could enjoy the food, mind you). He called out for Tsugumi and gave her a smug smile, "So…"

Tsugumi turned to Daryl in a daze and tilted her head.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'm hot and handsome as well?"

The question caught Tsugumi off-guard and she looked away from Daryl to hide her bright red face while trailed off with alien language.

For the first time in so long, Daryl chuckled audibly.


	6. Chapter 6

**2048.8.23**

_**Disclaimer:** Any characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks, __**belongs to Guilty Crown**__ and their respective associates. This story is __**purely fiction**__._

* * *

_Daryl x Tsugumi_

**Chapter 6**

Daryl found himself gazing at the night sky full of stars on the apartment's rooftop. The woman had wanted to watch the fireworks that should supposedly lasts for quite sometime after midnight thus they were there. He sat one knee up on the cold ceramic floor with his back on the wall. Daryl took a lick on his candy apple (it was not as disgusting as he initially thought it would be) and felt a sense of nostalgia. This situation sort of happened some time in the past he recalled. A few feet from him sat his mission objective, thoroughly enjoying her share of candy apple. They had their dinner and just promptly got back to the apartment.

* * *

Dinner with Tsugumi turned out more pleasant than Daryl had originally anticipated. The food was nice, the ambience was nice – everything was perfect. Daryl actually thought that Tsugumi was _quite tolerable_ to be with in spite of her occasional hotheadedness. The petite woman dined in a surprisingly refined manner. At some point of the dinner, she tried to strike a conversation but could not manage to as she really was enjoying her meal. Daryl respected her for that. There were people who looked refined but have the worst table manners and not to mention taking food for granted.

It was only after Daryl went through training simulations, which required him to survive in the wild, were when he truly appreciated the blessing of having food.

What came to Daryl's most pleasant experience during dinner was when he took a trip to the restroom. He encountered the raven-haired gentleman who was supposedly Tsugumi's acquaintance. Whilst on his way, the raven-haired guy blocked Daryl's path. He gave Daryl a menacing look and hissed lowly.

"You better take good care of Tsugumi or else I'll hunt you down and kill you".

Clearly he was not threatening _the_ brigadier general Yan, was he?

Daryl shot him a lazy look and walked away.

_'Well, that was rich'._

* * *

Thinking of it now, Daryl thought it was rather amusing. No one had ever _really_ threatened him before. But it was entertaining enough.

The night was not exceptionally breezy considering autumn was well on its way. The soft zephyr that blew past caused Daryl's hair to slightly sway to and fro. As the wind created sounds, Daryl suddenly realized Tsugumi had not been talking at all. Out of the less than a day's time Daryl got to know the petite woman, she was the most loquacious. It was not uncomfortable and he enjoyed the silence that way – It was not that the hubbub from the festivities below had subdued anyways, but it was silent enough. He gazed vacantly into the sky and held the candy apple in his faint grip. All throughout Daryl's peripheral was the sky covered in stars. Some bright and some were glowing softly. It was a spectacle that he had never seen in Tokyo at all. There were barely any stars visible at Tokyo even during the best of weather.

The world was a very curious place, indeed.

As he got more absorbed in his own thoughts, Daryl had not realized he had spoken.

"Do the stars appear like this every night?" Daryl asked and instantly cursed inwardly why he had asked something so... trivial.

"Umm, well… most the time when the weather is good, I guess…" Tsugumi answered slightly flustered.

It was quite dark as there were practically no lightings on the rooftop, but Daryl was still able to make out the face of the woman near him. Daryl just kept silent, still cursing himself. Perhaps if he kept his mouth shut the woman would not talk.

"It was always like this in Okinawa ever since I was a kid," Tsugumi added.

Daryl sighed.

"You're Okinawan _too_?"

"O-of course I'm Okinawan. What else would I be?" Tsugumi replied somewhat taken aback by his emphasize _'too'_. She was an all round Okinawan, that many can assure of.

Gushiken, much to Daryl's annoyance, sprang up in his mind. The image of the burly major general and that of the girl sitting near him was just impossible match. Come to think of it, most of Tsugumi's acquaintances were not… well... she has rather fair skin.

"You're not brown…" Daryl faintly muttered.

Tsugumi slightly giggled and light-heartedly replied, "Being an Okinawan does not mean I have to have tanned skin!"

Daryl just kept quiet. Boy was _he_ narrow-minded.

Tsugumi smiled and resumed eating her candy apple. She decided that she quite enjoyed the brigadier general's presence. Sure he may have his own quirks, but it has been a while since she really hung out with someone like this. Yes, she has her close colleagues but they were busy with their lives as well.

"So, where are you from, Daryl?" Tsugumi asked, thinking it was a good way to start a conversation.

Daryl turned his head to the girl and gave her a sceptical look and absently thought why she was so talkative.

"Well, your surname is Yan. It sounded Chinese but you don't really look like one…" Tsugumi weakly added.

After a pregnant pause, Daryl replied, "It's also a variant of John in Germany".

"Oh…"

The couple went into silence again.

Tsugumi shifted awkwardly. Boy was _she_ narrow-minded.

"Were you always living alone here?" Daryl asked. Again, his mouth acted before he thinks and what he had just said was not even important. He thought he had sounded prying instead. Prying into one's life was definitely not his pastime. What surprises him more was that he also does not enjoy interrogating people. Daryl was baffled by his own actions.

Half of Tsugumi's soul flew out at the blunt question.

"Uhhuh. I have always been living alone," Tsugumi replied with an initially lighthearted tone before changing into a more subdued one.

"It's not like I have family to live with anyways".

_Shit._

Tsugumi could detect the uneasiness from Daryl's poker face. She smiled at him and said, "No, don't worry. I'm fine this way. You know, get to be more independent than others my age and stuffs".

Daryl was still unconvinced.

Deciding to divert the topic, Tsugumi asked, "I had been meaning to ask you this. Are you the person who saved me that time?"

"What are you talking about?"

Tsugumi looked at Daryl as if he had told the most unconvincing lie ever. He of all people should know what she was talking about.

"You were in the GHQ, weren't you?"

Daryl looked at the woman incredulously. She was sharp, that much was true. Of course he had not _really_ meant to save her, the situation at that time was really messed up with that damnable Tsutsugami's appearance. Thinking of the man now, spoiled Daryl's mood and he felt rage building up inside him.

Inquisitive as ever, Tsugumi asked again, "If you were in the GHQ, then why did you join the JSDF?"

"I followed my father here when he got posted by GHQ. Now I was considered a defected person".

Despite the trigger of painful and maddening memories, Daryl could not fathom as to why he had told Tsugumi about his father. He had not even told a single soul about this. Not even Gushiken.

His father was the one person he was, at the same time, most proud and disgusted of. The prior being the past.

"So your dad is in the JSDF as well?" Tsugumi asked innocently.

Damn it. Why the hell must this woman ask so much?

At first Dary had thought that this woman might have been slightly different from others. But he was sorely mistaken. All of them were the same. They could just spend their lives away gossiping and sticking their nose into places they did not belong.

"He's dead".

Tsugumi's face changed into one that was sorry and she said, "I'm so sorry to hear that. I shouldn't have been so insen-"

"I killed him".

All Daryl could think of right now was what happened 9 years ago, all the failures and betrayals. He suddenly felt as if he was suffocating. His breath heaved in and out heavily.

Tsugumi could only looked at Daryl in shock and exclaimed a sharp "what?"

Tsugumi's voice reminded Daryl the time when he heard her voice the second time from his endlave. She was with her Undertaker friends then. Yes, that day Daryl remembered very well. Tsutsugami revived and thanks to him his life became even more messed up than ever. Who were they kidding at asking him to protect the very person who destroyed all his beliefs. He was miserable all thanks to the damn Undertaker leader. And now… The Undertaker runt has managed to remind him what they have made him.

Finally not able to calm down, Daryl snapped.

Daryl lunged himself at Tsugumi (who was still sitting a few feet away from him) until their faces were just mere inches away.

"What? What! Are you asking what the heck happened to me that I killed my own father? It's all because of you Undertakers! None of these would have happened to me if all of you did not exist! No… If that bastard Tsutsugami did not exist!" Daryl shouted into Tsugumi's face.

Tsugumi flinched for a split second. Astonished by Daryl's sudden change of attitude. After she processed what Daryl had just said to her, Tsugumi roughly pushed him away and stood up. The candy apple fell onto the floor with a light thud.

That was very uncalled for. She was just being nice.

"Don't you dare say that about Gai when you don't even know him!" Tsugumi screamed shrilly.

"So what if I said all this about him? Why do you care so much? What's Tsutsugami to you anyways?" Daryl replied snidely.

For some unknown reasons, Tsugumi felt intense heat crept up her neck. She was sure anyone could see how red her face was despite the lack of light.

_"What's Tsutsugami to you anyways?"_

"Gai is… Gai is my…" Tsugumi stuttered.

Daryl, who was still mad, looked at Tsugumi in confusion.

"Why does it matter to you what Gai is to me anyways!" Tsugumi screamed again in a shrill voice with a conspicuous blush on her face.

As she finished her yelling, Tsugumi stomped pass Daryl towards the staircase.

Daryl did not stand up and ran after Tsugumi. He just let his eyes followed her form in a daze when she turned around to yell at him.

"I just want to be alone right now! Don't even think of following me!"

Just right after that, Daryl suddenly wondered why in the world had he taken out his anger towards the woman. No, it had never happened before and he should not be even doing it to anyone. True, he had his own problems but those problems were only his and his alone.

At the same time, a nasty electric current flowed throughout his body. Daryl looked down to see the white ball staring at him with a hostile expression.

As the white robot skidded off to its master, Daryl then stared at the sky and wondered again why had he forgotten about the white ball. Oddly, he can see hundreds of the white ball in the sky.

Damn robot.


	7. Chapter 7

**2048.8.23**

_**Disclaimer:** Any characters and terminologies, every Guilty Crown copyrights and/or trademarks, __**belongs to Guilty Crown**__ and their respective associates. This story is __**purely fiction**__._

* * *

_Daryl x Tsugumi_

**Chapter 7**

It was only an endless stretch of star-filled sky that Daryl could see. He still did not understand why the woman was so furious. She was the one who was being nosey and he just lost his temper was all.

Women.

Too lost in his thought, Daryl just realized that the chilly night breeze caused goosebumps. He then did a side-glance to see the lone candy apple that was now fully covered with ants.

That was repulsive.

Daryl sprang up from his spot and blanched in disgust. Wondering what time it already was, Daryl promptly checked his watch. A quarter past ten. It has been awhile since the petite woman fumed her way down the stairs. Perhaps her anger has subsided. He left the roof after deciding it was not such a fun place anymore.

* * *

It does not take more than a minute to reach Tsugumi's apartment from the rooftop. Daryl held back a sigh as he reached out for the bell. Well, he was a guest after all – no keys.

The bell gave a soft rang. Daryl waited for a brief moment before deciding to ring it again. Again there was no answer to the door. For all Daryl knew, the woman was just trying to get back at him.

Impatient already, Daryl banged and barked at the door. However, he was only replied with silence. Surely it was disturbing to have someone trying to tear down your front door.

After registering everything through his tired mind was when Daryl felt something was amiss.

"Oi! Runt! Open the damned door!" Daryl shouted while hitting the door intensely.

Sensing no reply, Daryl kicked open the door and rushed into the apartment.

From the doorstep, the apartment looked normal without any signs of people breaking in. Daryl searched through the house for signs of Tsugumi. She was not anywhere home.

Daryl paced to the front door.

_'Where the hell did she go at a time like this?'_ Daryl thought as he rummaged through his brain for the possible locations.

Daryl sighed in exasperation as his mind told him the harsh fact that he knew nothing of the city.

Daryl was already on verge of exploding when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something gleaming by the shoe rack. It was Tsugumi's metal hair band.

Daryl picked up the hair band. The cool property of the metal sent chills down his spine as he remembered one crucial thing that Tsugumi had said today.

_"Hah! Now I got you stalker, you should have known better than to underestimate a girl!" _

_"Now I got you stalker…" _

The phrase repeated a few times before something came up in Daryl's mind.

Stalker!

Daryl felt dumb as he genuinely felt like a light bulb has lit up in his head. He felt even dumber in an instance as he chided himself at how he could have missed out something so important.

Clutching the hair band tightly, Daryl bolted down the apartment building.

* * *

It has been probably fifteen minutes since Daryl left Tsugumi's apartment. He could feel himself already soaked in sweat. He had been running through the crowd – avoiding any physical contact with each and everyone of them. The air was hot down the street with so many people squeezing and to make it worse, his mind was quite panic-stricken.

Gushiken's face flashed through Daryl's mind. Somehow Daryl felt like he knew something really bad could happen to himself if he failed this mission. What with Gushiken (of _all_ people, Daryl had to roll his eyes) stressing the importance of it. Else, Daryl would have shrugged it off. Besides, Daryl does not recognize failing to be in his dictionary.

Daryl stopped running and panted heavily. He cursed anything that his mind could come up at the time. Why would all these people still be up in the streets so late on a Sunday night?

Daryl reached for an empty bench and sat down, still panting heavily. Daryl closed his eyes and wrecked his brain to find any clues that today could have left behind.

Anything.

He just needed some way to locate Tsugumi.

Something slightly nudged Daryl's leg and brought him out of his train of thoughts. There it was, a battered white robot with an expression of dismal.

Daryl thought it was the most beautiful thing he had seen the whole day. Of course nothing beats Okinawa's scenery… or that of Tsugumi in her yukata for that matter. Daryl quickly shoved the thoughts off his mind and shot questions at the robot.

"White ball! Thank God! Where the hell have you been? And where's the runt?" Daryl bawled at the robot while the onlookers gave him weird looks.

The robot swiftly projected a screen. Written on it was, "Tsugumi was caught by three men. I escaped after embedding a tracking device on her. I will load the location of Tsugumi for you now".

A separate screen was projected out beside the message screen, showing a loading bar.

_'The girl got herself kidnapped?' _Daryl thought in alarm as he tried to get a hold of himself.

What in the world has he got himself into now?

* * *

Daryl could not remember when was the last time he had run this fast. He sprinted with all his might with the slightly broken robot in his arms. The robot projected a map with a calculated route to the destination. Shinko Wharf – sounded remote on a festival night. Funnell calculated the shortest route to the location. Despite getting off the crowded Kokusai Street it still should take around forty-five minutes on foot.

As if on cue, a Suzuki Hayabusa came to a halt at the nearby traffic light.

Thank God.

Daryl bolted towards the motorcyclist and tackled him off his bike. He perched Funnell in front of the instrument panel and accelerated down the street.

"Go fetch this from the police tomorrow!" Daryl shouted at the man he just attacked.

To say he was in luck was an understatement – this thing was really fast. It was yellow, however, much to the brigadier general's distaste. As he sped off, Funnell loaded another window which ultimately shows the picture of three men in their early thirties. Daryl had to admit that the white ball was pretty useful. Unfortunately, no information was known of these men.

It did not take Daryl more than ten minutes to reach the piers. He was sure he was speeding at 180 mph. He got off a few feet away from the intermodal container labelled SH07 that supposedly held Tsugumi.

Daryl discreetly sneaked to the container's door and glued his ear on it. He could make out the men voices and a distressed muffled voice. They must have covered Tsugumi's mouth.

Daryl slowly slides the metal closure of the door to prevent creating any noise. Once the closure was slide down, he opened the container door slowly and peeked into it. The container was dark but Daryl could see the forms of people in it from the meagre light of the cold-blast kerosene lantern.

Daryl's eyes widened then narrowed in outrage.

The men were trying to do inappropriate acts towards a blindfolded Tsugumi who was now struggling in her half naked form. Her yukata was completely torn off.

Unable to hold what he saw, Daryl opened the door wide. The lunar light that came into the dark container immediately caught the attention of the men. Catching them off-guard, Daryl lunged at one man and knocked him unconscious on his neck. The remaining two shouted loudly each pointing a pistol at him.

One started to fire at Daryl to which he shielded himself with the unconscious man in his arms. He pushed the unconscious man to the one who shot him and deftly avoiding the other's shots.

Daryl somersaulted towards the unconscious man and effortlessly snatched the conscious' pistol and in turn knocked him out as well. As Daryl get hold of the gun and stood up, the last remaining man grabbed hold of Tsugumi, who was whimpering in fear, and pointed a gun at her.

The shaken man threatened Daryl with a weird heavily accented Japanese. He grabbed a handful of Tsugumi's hair and pulled them forcefully. The wet blindfold slipped off at the tug to reveal a pair of swollen slate blue eyes.

Daryl focused his gaze at Tsugumi. She looked so scared and vulnerable. Daryl felt rage accumulating inside. Tsugumi looked at him with that helpless and pained expression while her tears rolled down endlessly. For some reasons, it made him felt so numb that he completely forgotten the kidnapper was still shouting at him.

Without further ado, Daryl pulled the trigger and accurately shot the man on his exposed knee and hands. The man fell back and yelped in pain. Daryl rushed over and knocked him out with the grip of the gun.

Tsugumi was totally shaken. She curled herself up with her arms covering her uncovered torso.

Daryl took one last inspection at the gun and tossed it away. He started to unbutton his shirt and put it over Tsugumi's petite frame. Afterwards he proceeded to tie up the men with a rope he found inside the container. He wiped his hands profusely on his pants after he had done the labour job. He will need lots of antiseptic after this.

Daryl grabbed his mobile phone and dialled for Gushiken. The line only rang once when Gushiken picked up his call.

"Yo! How's it there?" came Gushiken's ever annoyingly cheerful voice.

"Black Swan's been kidnapped," Daryl said grimly as he slightly panted.

"What!" came through the other side of the phone. Daryl's ear stung.

Daryl caught his breath and reported, "I've tracked down the culprits. My location is at the Shinko Wharf in SH07 hi-cube. There's three of them, early thirties, well-built. One of them is dead from fatal gunshot and I've knocked out the rest and tied them up. They had Tokarev with them. Other firearms are found in the container they hid at," he glanced sideways at the boxes of weapons and continued, "all are Russian. No doubt it's North Korea's doings".

"Good. Now that the North Korea is involved, there's no choice but to get the JSDF there to investigate. SH07, huh? That container must have been heading to Shanghai. North Korea must have plans for the cargo to get Black Swan. How's Black Swan now?"

At the mention of Tsugumi, Daryl could not help but to look over to check the petite woman. The container was dark and cold. She barely had any clothing on aside of her remaining undergarments. He looked away and returned to his call.

"They," Daryl started then he swallowed the lump in his throat and continued by whispering, "they attempted to rape her".

Gushiken awkwardly let out an "oh".

Daryl coughed at the awkward flow of the conversation.

"Anyways I'll finish my mission successfully. You don't have to worry about that. As for the kidnappers?"

"I'll contact the JSDF over there now. They will reach your location soon. Please wait for them for some statement"

"My covert mission?"

"Don't worry it will still stay covert. I have my ways. You are to escort Black Swan to Tokyo safely tomorrow morning, understand?"

"Understood," Daryl replied wearily.

"You know, sometimes it's nice if you call me a Sir"

Daryl hung up the phone and rolled his eyes. Trust Gushiken to joke even at such a situation.

Daryl slipped his phone into his pocket and turned to Tsugumi. She was still trembling. Despite being free, she still had not bothered to take off the duct tape that was stuck to her mouth. In fact, she had not even properly wear and button up the shirt Daryl covered her. She was just there shaking, covering her chest with her arms and stare vacantly in the air in fear.

Daryl stared at Tsugumi with an indifferent look. He walked over to her front and knelt down. He took off the duct tape in one swift movement. At the same time, Tsugumi shrunk and avoid Daryl.

What, now she could not even differentiate comrade from enemies?

"Please stop, please stop," chanted Tsugumi in a low feeble voice.

Her behaviour irritates Daryl.

"What?" Daryl started in a sharp tone, startling Tsugumi.

She slowly stopped her intense trembling and looked up at the man before her.

"Never seen anyone shot in front-," Daryl tried to continue his speech but his nose was filled with Tsugumi's natural scent. It smelt so nice and addictive...

Daryl's self tensed when he realized that Tsugumi was weeping with her head and hands on his chest. He had wanted to push her away when a nasty electric current flow throughout out his body. Funnell skidded into Daryl's view and showed him a projected message.

"She is really scared. Just let her be for now".

After reading the message, Daryl heaved a sigh and let the woman hold onto him, as he made no move to hug back. He just stayed in that position as she wept.

Soon Daryl heard faint noise of explosions coming from afar. So the fireworks have started. Daryl then looked down at Tsugumi. Her breath was not erratic anymore. She has fallen asleep.

Daryl closed his eyes and sighed again.

He could imagine how long a bath he would take later that night.


End file.
